My dear Friends,
Women are more than ever successful in whatever they choose to pursue. The amount of wealth controlled by women has been on a rollercoaster since the financial crisis of 2008, by 2030 women are forecast to own 67% of the total global wealth.
At the same time, many women who claim to be very independent are disconnected from long-term financial planning.
What are the reasons why so many women defer financial planning, including their own financial future, to their spouses or any other man?
Stereotyped and Disempowered
Owning authority over a financial future seems to remain deep down in many women‘s boxes assigned to black magic. Far too many defer decision-making to their spouses or become dependent on their advisors and are thus complicit in disempowering themselves and giving up control over their well-being in the future.
Still, for many having control over their wealth remains stressful, causing attacks of imposter syndrome, unspecified guilt, and at times panic attacks – to avoid the topic and defer to men to take control over their net worth.
Women feel uncomfortable with their lack of control but out of fear of making wrong decisions, for fear of being exposed, they seem to opt for self-disempowerment, disengage completely, give up their independence and self-reliance, and the power they potentially have.
Mindset
A mental inclination, disposition, or frame of mind is what we call the mindset. The mindset is shaped by a personal collection of thoughts and beliefs that shape thought habits. These thought habits affect how you think, what you feel, what you do, and how you do something. The mindset impacts how someone makes sense of the world and shapes self-perception.
“An attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behaviour.”
Oxford Dictionary
Attitudes are a learned tendency to evaluate things in a certain way. This can include evaluations of people, issues, wealth, money, objects, or events. Such evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also be uncertain at times. For example, you might have mixed feelings about a particular person or issue.”
Attitude and Mindset
The Components
- The Emotional Component: How the object, person, issue or event makes you feel.
- The Cognitive Component: Your thoughts and beliefs about the subject.
- The Behavioral Component: How the attitude influences your behaviour.
The Attitude
- The attitude is how one feels about something
- The mindset shapes this attitude
- This attitude reinforces the mindset
Beliefs and Mindset
The mindset is shaped by core beliefs and attitudes to specific issues, people or situations and rules your actions, communication, attitudes, and self-concept ( a collection of beliefs about oneself or the ideal – self). The Mindset is key to shaping lives, self-esteem, and emotional balance.
Beliefs
- Beliefs shape individual attitudes
- The attitude also shapes a belief
- Individual beliefs shape the mindset
“Rigid rules define what is acceptable for women. She is rewarded by playing them and punished for breaking them. Only during crisis gender norms relax”
Paula Polito,UBS Wealth Management
The Financial Mindset
The “money mindset” is the overriding attitude someone has about wealth ownership, finance and money in general. This has a big impact on our ability to successfully deal with issues of wealth, spending habits, financial decision-making, and financial planning.
The female “money” mindset
- To talk about money is “taboo”
- Insecure about the future of their finances
- Rather give discounts on their pricing than ask for an increase in a remuneration
- Talking about earnings feels awkward
- Want to do ” good” with their wealth and leave a financial legacy or are philanthropic
- Advocating for themselves equals not being likeable
- Confidence in women – equals being difficult and not likeable
- Wealthownership is linked with guilt and shame
- Being an investor equals being greedy or crass
- The finance market is a man´s game, they have it in their blood
- Keeping money in a savings account is safe but investing bears too many risks
- The dealings of the financial market are shady, speculative and even criminal
- 62% claim to perceive the financial market as black magic and are scared to make a decision
- The need for perfection because women feel imperfect – they try to get things super perfect
Speed Read
By 2030 will control 65% of global wealth
Too many still defer financial decision making to a spouse or wealth manager and disengage completely
Owning the confidence to make valid financial decisions is a matter of the mindset
The mindset is shaped by beliefs and attitudes
The mindset is shaped from early childhood onwards by a family, society, and cultures
For many women, the financial market has a negative connotation
64% of women think men are better at dealing with financial matters
Most people have a love-hate relationship with money
Women have the financial power to change the world
Female investors tend to outperform male investors
Women’s financial and decision-making power will be key to reshaping and rebuilding the global economy post-pandemic
Women have huge economic and financial power but they need to reframe their money mindset and let go of formed attitudes and beliefs to fully use their potential
A Love-Hate Relationship
Let´s be honest, everybody (including men) has a somehow goofy money mindset. Money was conceived to make trading easier – rather than bringing a sheep or a herd of cows if you wanted to ” buy” something, one could carry coins and later paper money- so much easier. But over the centuries money has become a symbol of status and power. Rich or poor, male or female, whatever the cultural background, money rules us whether we like it or not. We all like to have it and if possible in abundance.
Over the centuries it has become a symbol of status and power. Rich or poor, male or female, whatever the cultural background, money rules us all, if we like this or not. We all like to have it and if possible in abundance. Most people struggle a whole life to make ends meet, some spend more than they have, others use it as a tool to exercise power, some live in constant fear of losing it. Money can wreck friendships, societies or families. Some authors make us believe, once a millionaire´ess (one million seems to be a magic benchmark) one has a lifelong ticket to continuous happiness. Far too many believe money buys respect and social acceptance others overspend it as if a continuous supply can be extracted at any time from the socket or a similar unknown source.
The personal approach to financial decision-making is shaped by the attitudes and the believes we have about owning wealth and being financially independent- this is shaped by personal experience, cultural and social background, and most important the family.
Shaping a Mindset
- Spending habits were a reoccurring issue in the family, and often ended in aggression
- The mother and other female members within the social bubble had no financial independence the women felt humiliated and vulnerable as a consequence
- The mother´s wealth sustained the family, the humiliated father resorted to aggression and backlashing
- Money was never a topic, but there was an underlying current of friction and stress in connection with financial issues
- A member of the family or social bubble who was financially unsuccessful was shamed, blamed and excluded from the “tribe”
- The origin of the family’s wealth is a secret yet the social bubble spreads rumours about its origin
- In the social bubble mainly male members perceive women as compulsive over-spenders
- Women in the family and the societal background believe it is a man’s responsibility to provide for a woman’s financial wellbeing
- Male members in the family and male school teachers believe the female brain is not designed for numeric tasks
- Assertive and confident women are perceived as not likeable by family members and the social bubble
- The underlying current in the family is the fear of going bankrupt and thus losing social standard and acceptance
- Seeking advice or getting professional help is considered as being dum or weak
- The family considers change and disruption as a threat
- The family, the social bubble and the cultural background reflect an attitude of entitlement and self-righteousness
Women are masters at toxic self-affirmation of their beliefs and feeding these beliefs to others as well. So, investing advice often starts with the assumption that women need to be coaxed into taking an interest in finance, or having zero interest in financial matters, yet the client´s relationship with money is never addressed.
The belief that women are risk-averse spendthrifts permeates everything from 65% of articles addressing the female reader with finances discouraging women from excessive shopping and urging better budgeting to financial advisors who assume their female clients want less control over their investments.
” In personal and professional realms, women hold the key to political, economic and social salvation post-pandemic. The female future will recalibrate entrepreneurship and funding around a new set of priorities that will force governments and businesses to reform their agendas.”
Martin Raymond, co-founder, The Future Laboratory
The Power
Today, there are more and more women in leadership positions across markets and sectors. Women´s wealth is accelerating by 2030 women will account for 40% of HNWI. Female entrepreneurship and female-led businesses are on an upward trajectory, 70% of the unprecedented wealth transfer between generations will go into women’s coffers.
Outperformance
- Female investors regularly outperform male investors – by 1,6%
Risk-Aware vs. Risk AverseF
Long-term
- Female investors think long-term, they trade 45% less than men do
- Female investors have fewer trading costs, ie. commissions or taxes
- Female investors are more resilient and calm during a downturn and are less likely to lock in losses
Change
- With women becoming more prominent and active wealth holders societal and financial structures will adapt
- Women can drive investment trends around risk, purpose, resilience, legacy and education
- Peer to peer investing can narrow the gender pay gap
- With more women at the helm, businesses will be more efficient and sustainable
- Gender lens investing could lead to an increase in annual global GDP by 26%
- More active female investors will open the traditionally closed male networks of the financial markets
- Female investors will be key to rebuild the economy with a focus on resilience
- With more women making independent investment decisions they will be the driving force for a more caring economy
Reframing the Mindset
To be able to make or have choices, to live a comfortable life now and in the future women need to reframe their financial mindsets and include finances in their overall wellness program. Women outlive men, so women need to be self-reliant and be in control of the future of their wealth. Too many end up in financial dire straights when they are least able to cope with such stress – in old age.
Women need to financially self-educate, shift their mindset and gain the financial confidence they need to make the financial decisions they have the ability to make. Financial decision-making needs to be a key element in women´s agendas. This does not entail fitting into a male-led world or matching any male agendas but forging an individual path of securing personal wealth by focussing their investments on sustainable returns, purpose, and leaving a legacy for the next generation.
Female investors have the unique chance to use their power with the purpose to make a difference in the world by focusing investment strategies on businesses that reflect environmental and social concerns as much as governance. Markets and players will have to adapt and eventually making a difference with investment decisions will gain priority over short-term gains.
